Package of box blanks



Oct. 23, 1951 AUDINQ 2,572,584

PACKAGE OF BOX BLANKS Filed Sept. 17, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR. HECTOR AUDINO QQIaJI- QW ATTORNEYS H. AUDINO PACK GE 0F BOXBLANKS Oct. 23, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1948 m mw m V m A w m R E w W m 3 p l w. w m u f n W k Patented Oct. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PACKAGE F BOX BLANKS I Hector Audino, Tcaneck, N. J.

Application September 17, 1948, Serial No. 49;72-1 (Cl. 206-60) 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the shipment of box blanks and the like. In the past it has been the custom to ship box blanks in a folded form, that is, one edge of the blank was glued to the opposite edge and the blanks shipped in this folded form. This resulted in there being three thicknesses of the material at the point where the flap of one side was glued to th opposite side. Further, the blanks thus folded-are customarily packed in cartons and handled as individual packages when loading either a truck or a railroad freight car. By my present invention the box blanks are left unfolded, the gluing of the side edges being done at the point of utilization, and the blanks are piled upon a skid or pallet and handled without any need for or use of the cartons previously employed. Thus the wastage involved in the use of such cartons is avoided, the density of the resulting bulk package is greatly increased over that of the customary carton, and mechanized means of handling can be employed to advantage.

It is an object of my invention to provide a package of box blanks which consists of the blanks fiat and unfolded or mounted on a skid or pallet for easy handling thereof.

It is another object of my invention to provide a method of handling box blanks which requires no packing of blanks in containers, such as corrugated cartons, and which, therefore,

eliminates the cost of such containers.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a package of box blanks assembled inpiles on a skid or pallet in a dense compact unit, and retained in their position by utilization of the sealing flaps of the box blanks.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a method of handling box blanks which is readily performed with simple apparatus and which materially reduces the cost of shipping, handling and storing while at the same time assuring that the blanks will remain in proper condition for utilization.

Other objects and features of my invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the attached drawings in which- Figure l is a perspective View of a pallet showing a plurality of box blanks piled thereon in a number of individual piles in accordance with the method of my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary broken sectional view of the assemblage of Figure 1 illustrating the utilizing the box blank flaps to-hold the piles of box blanks-in-placeon the pallet;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of auportion offer pallet such as that of Figure 1, illustrating a number of auxiliary platforms provided .in accordance with my invention and showing the mode of interlocking box blanks upon one of these auxiliary platforms;

Figure l is a bottom plan view of a cover member which maybe utilized for holding thestacked box blanks in position on a skid or pallet;

Figure 5 is a vertical elevation along the .plane of the line 55.of Figure 3 showing the mode of bending the flaps of the box blank downwardly into recesses in the auxiliary platform on the overlying blanks to thereby lock the pile of blanks together and prevent shifting of the box blanks in handling and shipping;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the particular box blank which has been used to illustrate the invention; in this view thereisalso shown a mode of cutting the sealingflaps which serves .to supplement the interlocking actionof the flaps; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section along the plane of the line 1-1 of Figure 6, showing the alignment of the projections left by I. this method of cutting when the box blanks are stacked upon the skid or pallet, and interlocked.

Referring now to thedrawings, there is. shown in Figure 1 a pallet Iii comprising the platform II, the base 12, and the supports [3. The plat.- form I I is here shown as a solid member. It may, however, be and frequently is, a slat platform and though shownas relatively thick, may be made of corrugated steel and relatively thin. It should be noted at this point that the trade com.- monly makes a distinction between a skid. and a pallet in that the pallet is provided with the-base member l2 while the skid is not. The pallet is preferred because due-to the utilization of the base 12 loaded pallets may be stacked oneupon the other while skids cannot ordinarily be so stacked. Skids additionally are normally not provided with the central supporting member 13 and may, therefore, be utilized in connection with a platform lift truck, whereas pallets are normally provided with this central support -and are used with the forked type of lift truck.

In accordance with my invention there are provided on the platform I l of the skid or pallet. a plurality of small auxiliary platforms" M (see Figure 3) or in some instances a single auxiliary platform. The platforms I4 are provided with cutouts or notches l6 and Il at their edges,these cutouts corresponding in size and shape to selected ones of the flaps of the particularbox blank which is to be handled. It will'; "of course,

the platform be understood that the blank illustrated in the drawings, and particularly in Figure 6, is one of a Wide variety both as respects the arrangement of the score lines for folding and the cuts to form the sealing flaps and as respects the size and shape of the box blanks. It will also be understood that in some instances only a single notch will be formed in the auxiliary platform for each pile of box blanks rather than the two which have been illustrated herein, and that in general the number of cutouts will depend upon the type of box blank and its arrangement of sealing flaps.

In the particular instance shown, particularly in Figure l, the skid or pallet has 20 piles of box blanks I9 (Figure 6) arranged thereon of which, of course, only eight piles appear in Figure 1, these eight being designated respectively, 26, 2|, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 21. The number of piles or stacks of blanks which may be placed upon the skid is, of course, dependent upon the size of the box blanks and is limited by the conventional considerations applicable to both skids .and pallets not provided with interlocking forms .but handling the same type of product.

The auxiliary platforms may be fastened to H in any suitable manner. In .Figure 2 a wooden pallet platform is utilized and the auxiliary platforms I4 also made of wood are :fastened to the pallet platform by means of bolts I8. However, as has been indicated above, the pallet platform may be made of steel, either corrugated or otherwise, and in this event the auxiliary platforms I4 may be fastened to the pallet platform II by machine screws which fit into drilled and tapped holes in the pallet platform.

A typical box blank has been illustrated in Figure 6, and this form of box blank has been .shown in the other figures of the drawing. It is to be understood, however, that this box blank is merely one example of the utilization of my invention and that many other forms may be handled and transported by the methods hereinabove and hereinafter disclosed. The, box blank I9 of Figure 6 comprises a main body portion provided with the usual glue fiap 4i and with the sealing flaps 30, 3!, 32, 33, 3d, 35, 56 and 62. The body of the blank I9 is divided in various sections by the score lines 43 and the flaps are joined to the body portion and at the pcint of juncture of the sealing flaps with the body portions score lines 44 are provided. As has been indicated, in the particular instance, the flaps 3S and 3| have been selected to be forced downwardly into the notches I 6 and IT of the auxiliary platforms, thereby interlocking the blanks with the platforms and likewise interlocking the upper blanks with those lying below them. It is preferable that the auxiliary platforms I4 and the stacks of blanks I9 be located on the skid or pallet with the juncture line 44 between the body of the blank and the flaps 30 and SI parallel to the direction of movement which is normally given to the skid or pallet during transportation. This is so because the chief interlocking action between the flaps 30 and 3i and the notches I6 and I1 is provided in the construction mentioned, that is parallel to the score line 4-4.

The blanks may be assembled on the pallet by simply stacking them in the manner indicated above and then tapping the flaps 3B and SI, for example with a hammer to cause these flaps to fall downwardly, as indicated particularly in Figure 2.

In some instances it is desirable to slightly modify the mode of cutting the box blank iiiorder to provide a greater resistance to shifting of the box blanks in a direction parallel to the edges of the foldable flaps which are to be interlocked and locked to the auxiliary platform. As is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the flaps 39 and 3| may be cut from the adjacent flaps 32, 33, 34 and 35 respectively, by utilizing a knife having a small nick in the blade thereby leaving the portions adjacent the center of the flap joined to the adjacent flap. These juncture points indicated particularly at 36 (Figures 6 and 7) will be broken when the flaps are forced out of the plane of the box blank and will thus form relatively rough edges which will prevent movement of the box blank on the underlying blank or blanks.

After the piles of blanks have been assembled, as is hereinbefore described, a cover 31 (Figure 4) may be placed thereon,as is illustrated particularly in Figure l, the cover 31 being held in position in any suitable manner, such, for example, as by the metal strapping 38. In order to further assure that there will be no slippage of the blanks upon the skid or pallet, the cover 31 may be provided with wedge-shaped pieces and 51 corresponding, respectively, in area and position to those flaps 30 and 3| which are bent out of the planes of the box blanks. Thus it will be impossible, even if the loaded pallet or skid be inverted, for the individual flaps to be moved back into the plane of their box blanks and permit slippage of the box blanks one upon the other. It has, however, been found that in practice the use of these wedges on the cover is in general unnecessary.

It will, of course, be understood that the flaps 3G and 3I are given no permanent set and may readily and easily be restored to their original position in the plane of the box blank prior to the folding and gluing of the blank into a completed box.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that modification thereof may be utilized within the scope and spirit of my invention. Consequently, I wish to. be limited not by the foregoing description but, on the contrary, solely by the claims granted to What is claimed is:

l. A package of similar box blanks of the type having sealing flaps which comprises a platform having at least one cutout therein for each vertical stack of box blanks, a plurality of stacks of box blanks located upon said platform With the flaps in vertical registration and with at least one of the sealing flaps of the lowermost lank of each stack displaced out of the plane of its blank and into the plane of the platform cutout, the flaps vertically registered With said one flap being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks and into the plane of lower blanks in the stack.

2. A package of similar box blanks of the type having sealing flaps which comprises a platform having at least one cutout therein for each vertical stack of box blanks, a plurality of stacks of box blanks located upon said platform with the flaps in vertical registration and with selected ones of the sealing flaps of the lowermost blank of each stack displaced out of the plane of th blanks and into the plane of the platform cutout, the remaining flaps vertically registered with said selected flaps being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks and into the plane of lower blanks in the stack.

3. A package of similar box blanks of the type having sealing flaps which comprises a platform having at least one cutout therein for each vertical stack of box blanks, a plurality of stacks of box blanks located upon said platform with the flaps in vertical registration and with at least one of the sealing flaps of the lowermost blank of each stack displaced out of the plane of its blank and into the plane of the platform cutout, the remaining flaps vertically registered with said one flap being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks and into the plane of lower blanks in the stack, and a cover on said stacks of blanks, said cover being provided with wedgeshape members which enter into the spaces resulting from the displacement of the flaps of the uppermost blanks.

4. A package of similar box blanks of the type having sealing flaps which comprises a platform having at least one cutout therein for each vertical stack of box blanks, a plurality of stacks of box blanks located upon said platform with the blanks and flaps in vertical registration and with selected ones of the sealing flaps of the lowermost blank of each stack displaced out of the plane of their blanks and into the plane of the platform cutout, the remaining flaps vertically registered with said selected flaps being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks and into the plane of lower blanks in the stack, and a cover on said stacks of blanks, said cover being provided with wedge-shape members which enter into the spaces resulting from the displacement of the flaps of the uppermost blanks.

5. A package of similar box blanks of the type having sealing flaps which comprises a skid or pallet having a platform, a plurality of auxiliary platforms fixed to said skid platform, each said auxiliary platform having at least one cutout at an edge thereof, a stack of registered box blanks extending vertically upward from each said auxiliary platform, said stack of blanks having sealing flaps in vertical registration at least one of which registers with said edge cutout of said underlying auxiliary platform, said sealing flaps being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks so that the lowermost of the sealing flaps extend into said edge cutouts and the upper ones of said sealing flaps extend into the planes of blanks lower in the stack.

6. A package of similar box blanks which comprises a skid or pallet having a platform, a plurality of auxiliary platforms fixed-to said skid platform, each platform having the same dimensions as box blanks to be stacked thereon, said platforms being arranged to occupy the entire area of the skid platform, each said auxiliary platform having at least one cutout at an edge thereof, a stack of registered box blanks extending vertically upward from each said auxiliary platform, said stack of blanks having sealing flaps in vertical registration with said edge cutout of said underlying auxiliary platform, said sealing flaps being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks so that the lowermost of the sealing flaps extend into said edge cutout and the upper ones of said sealing flaps extend into the planes of blanks lower in the stack.

7. A package of similar box blanks of the type having sealing flaps which comprises a. skid or pallet having a platform, a plurality of auxiliary platforms fixed to said skid platform, each platform having the same dimensions as box blanks to be stacked thereon, said platforms being arranged to occupy the entire area of the skid platform, each said auxiliary platform having at least one cutout at an edge thereof, a stack of registered box blanks extending vertically upward from each said auxiliary platform, said stack of blanks hav-' ing sealing flaps in vertical registration with said edge cutout of said underlying auxiliary platform, said sealing flaps being displaced out of the plane of their respective blanks so that the lowermost of the sealing flaps extend into said edge cutout and the upper ones of said sealing flaps extend into the planes of blanks lower in the stack, and a cover extending over said stacks of blanks, said cover being provided with wedge-shape members which enter into the spaces resulting from the displacement of the flaps of the uppermost blanks.

8. A package of similar box blanks which comprises a skid or pallet having a platform, a plurality of auxiliary platforms fixed to said skid platform, each platform having the same dimensions as box blanks to be stacked thereon, said platforms being arranged to occupy the entire area of the skid platform, each said auxiliary platform having at least one cutout at an edge thereof, a stack of box blanks extending vertically upward from each said auxiliary platform, said stack of blanks having sealing flaps in vertical registration with said edge cutout of said underlying auxiliary platform, said box blanks being so cut that small uncut areas join the sealing flaps overlying the platform cutouts to adjacent portions of the box blank, said registering sealing flaps being displaced out of the lane of their respective boxes so that said uncut portions are broken and the lowermost of the sealing flaps extend into said edge cutout and the upper ones of said sealing flaps extend into the planes of blanks lower in the stack, the rough edges resulting from breaking said uncut portions serving to increase the locking effect between said flap and said platform cutouts and between said flaps and the lower box blanks in said stack.

HECTOR AUDINO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,696,008 Ludwig Dec. 18, 1928 2,133,683 Black Oct. 18, 1938 2,168,784 Scott Aug. 8, 1939 2,173,972 Lane Sept. 26, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 284,123 Great Britain Jan. 26, 1928 

